PA offers yet another Voter ID photo card

State says it will start issuing its own free ID cards next month so residents can comply with new Voter ID law.

July 20, 2012|By John L. Micek, Call Harrisburg Bureau

HARRISBURG — — The catalog of photo identification cards that Pennsylvanians can use to comply with the state's new Voter Identification law is starting to get about as extensive as those "You Pick Two" lists at your local soup-and-sandwich joint.

This week, the Pennsylvania Department of State added another choice to a list that already includes most student IDs, government and military IDs and long-term care IDs, announcing that it will issue a free photo identification card available to registered voters who know their Social Security number and can produce two documents proving their address.

News of the new identification card was included in a legal filing in the court fight between the state and groups seeking to overturn the new law.

In the court filing, the Department of State says it will start issuing the "Department of State Voter ID" cards next month at Department of Transportation motor license centers across the state.

In addition, it'll be up to officials at the Motor License Center to make sure the person requesting the card is both a registered voter and doesn't already have a PennDOT photo ID, the court filing indicates.

"We believe these new cards will be a safety net for those who may not currently possess all of the documents they need for a standard photo ID from PennDOT," Secretary of State Carol Aichele said in a statement. "Our goals are to continue making voters aware of the new voter ID law and helping those who may not have proper identification obtain it."

The cards will last 10 years and can only be used for voting, the agency said. They're intended to be a "card of last resort" for people who otherwise can't obtain proper identification, said Nick Winkler, an agency spokesman.

Winkler could not say how many people might qualify for the new cards, which will start being issued in August and through Election Day on Nov. 6. He did say the effort was consistent with the state's attempts to make sure "all 8.2 million voters have the opportunity to vote" on Election Day.

In the meantime, the Commonwealth Court fight between the state and the state branch of the American Civil Liberties Union and other petitioners gets a public hearing in Harrisburg on July 25.

In a nutshell, defenders of the law say it's needed to ensure the integrity of elections and to cut down on voter fraud. Opponents say the law is little more than an effort to disenfranchise tens of thousands of voters — mostly seniors, city-dwellers and students — who have historically voted Democrat.

After a dry run in the April primary, the new law, which requires people to show photo identification every time they vote, is supposed to fully kick in with the November general election. The people challenging the law are trying to stop that from happening.